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Friday, December 27, 2013

10 Pieces of Life Advice from Big Freedia

It may come as no surprise that boundary-busting bounce artist Big Freedia is highly quotable. During a recent interview for a story previewing her appearance in SA on Saturday she dropped a lot of wisdom, too much to include in one piece, really. And a lot of it was smart, positive and practical. So, until Big Freedia's Guide to Life comes out (I just made that up, but maybe I can will it into existence The Secret-style), here's some fun advice to remember as we head into New Year's resolution season. You can see the Queen in person this Saturday at the Snowball Winter Bash at Maverick Plaza.

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1. How to handle bad dancers on the dance floor:

"You know, a lot of times I see that. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Yeah I see that a lot, but I hold that in and let everyone express themselves the way that they choose, because we all don’t dance the same. We all don’t have the same rhythm. Some people like to take it over the top, some people like to do things differently. I accept it all."

2. How to avoid being that bad dancer:

"You have to contain your space and you have to hold your ground, and you can’t hurt anyone else in the process. If you hurt another one of my fans that’s on stage, or doing something to some other fan ... Freedia will stop the show, kick you off stage, kick yo’ ass if need be."

3. How to host a good party:

"That’s what I’m about, making everybody have a good time: let your hair down, have fun, let’s party, shake your ass, do whatever you do. It doesn’t matter how you look, your creed, your color, let’s do it."

4. Have a mantra:

Before she gets onstage, Big Freedia tells herself: "Come on child, do what you do, make it happen."

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5. Accept yourself, and others will accept you:

"When I started feeling comfortable, people started screaming for me and representing me, that was a thing that helped me overcome that fear, because people wanted me and loved the music."

6. Have goals, even if you're already successful:

"I have many goals that I’m steadily trying to reach and that’s why it’s important to keep on reaching as I go."

7. Care deeply about your loved ones:

"Me and my mom, we’re two of a kind. We have a connection, where if she’s feeling something, I’m feeling something too. If she’s going through something, I’m going through it too."

8. Don't create needless divisions:

"We do bounce music. We never did separate it and put subtitles on it: sissy bounce, straight bounce, girl bounce. No. It all sounds stupid, it is stupid. It’s all just bounce music."

9. How to handle the media:

"It’s been fun answering questions about Miley. Because it’s been different questions, different people have different angles with it, trying to see what I’m going to say with the response.... I’m always aware of what they’re asking though, and I try to be cautious with my response. Let’s just say that."